Accidental inhalation of helium under high pressure can cause symptomatic cerebral and coronary artery gas embolism.

Background: It has been shown that pulsed wave tissue Doppler velocities of mitral annulus correlate well with left ventricular (LV) diastolic and systolic functions. It is not yet clear whether these velocities can be used to estimate left ventricular dysfunction in an unselected population of patients with clinical signs and symptoms of heart failure (HF). Aim: To determine whether LV mitral annulus velocities measured by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) correlate with plasma N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels in patients with HF. Methods and results: Early diastolic (E m ) and systolic (S m ) TDI velocities of septal and lateral mitral annulus were measured in 50 patients with HF together with other conventional echocardiographic parameters, and compared with plasma NT-proBNP levels. Significant correlations were found between NT-proBNP level and E m velocity (r=À0.79), S m velocity (r=À0.43), early transmitral to E m velocity ratio (r=0.38), LV end diastolic diameter (r=0.29), LV ejection fraction (r=À0.44) and tricuspid regurgitant velocity (r=0.31). In multiple regression model (R 2 =0.733), the E m velocity was the most important predictor of NT-proBNP level. Conclusions: Early diastolic mitral annulus velocity measured by TDI correlates strongly with plasma NT-proBNP levels, and provides a simple, accurate and reproducible echocardiographic index of heart failure.

CASE REPORT SIGNA VITAE 2010; 5(2): 35 -37

Research letterscomparisons were made, which may lead to false positive findings. The finding that all significant associations were in the expected direction supports our conclusion, but further confirmation is needed.In conclusion, our study suggests a possible association between general brain atrophy and hearing loss, but causality cannot yet be inferred due to cross-sectional study design. Key points• Women with cortical brain atrophy had poorer hearing in the high-frequency range of the left ear.• The relation between brain atrophy and poorer hearing was correlated to the extension, not to the location, of the cortical atrophy.• The relation between brain atrophy and poorer hearing was stronger in women with high cognitive function.